“To Be or Not To Be?”: Hamlet and Tyrannicide
Abstract This essay considers Shakespeare through Aristotelianism and Thomism to explore Hamlet as a meditation on tyranny. Based on the classical model of tragedy as presented by Aristotle in his Poetics and further informed by his Ethics and Politics , the essay identifies the climax of the play i...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2021
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| In: |
Religion and the arts
Year: 2021, Volume: 25, Issue: 3, Pages: 243-262 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Shakespeare, William 1564-1616, Hamlet
/ Tyrannicide
/ Aristoteles 384 BC-322 BC
/ Political ethics
/ Thomas Aquinas 1225-1274
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| IxTheo Classification: | FA Theology KBF British Isles NCD Political ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
Anger
B Ethics B Climax B Shakespeare B Aquinas B Tyrannicide B tyrant B Vengeance B Tragedy B Aristotle |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Abstract This essay considers Shakespeare through Aristotelianism and Thomism to explore Hamlet as a meditation on tyranny. Based on the classical model of tragedy as presented by Aristotle in his Poetics and further informed by his Ethics and Politics , the essay identifies the climax of the play in order to determine the playwright’s argument about what should have happened instead of what did—namely, the hero should have removed the tyrant Claudius when given the opportunity at Act 3, Scene 3. Shakespeare is deliberately and successfully upending the Aristotelian model, while yet fulfilling its definitions and expectations. The claim is further supported by Aquinas’s six conditions for the right use of anger and vengeance as found in his Summa Theologica . Hamlet’s choice not to act is highly significant—and ironically Shakespearean. The play’s treatment of tyranny may have been a call to action for Shakespeare’s contemporary audience. |
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| ISSN: | 1568-5292 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion and the arts
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685292-02503001 |